Is the Purple Potato Milk Tea any good or is it simply a mouthful to order?

After being away from Singapore for a good six months, Gong Cha is finally back on our little red dot with its new flagship store, opened earlier today (Dec 1) at 12 noon. About two hours before it officially launched, a snaking queue of about 200 people has already gathered in anticipation of the beloved bubble tea brand’s return.

First in line was 17-year-old Daryl, a fervent Gong Cha lover who queued overnight at 10pm. His reward for his commitment? Vouchers worth 99 cups of Gong Cha bubble tea! When he finally placed his order for a cup of Pearl Milk Tea, Gong Cha CEO Mr Kang Puay Seng personally concocted the tea before presenting it to him.

The junior college student was also bombarded with a ton of photo requests and questions from the media, and we were thoroughly impressed by how comfortable the handsome young lad was in front of the cameras.

In addition to original classics that we have all been missing and pining for, the new Gong Cha has also launched a series of new drinks. We tasted five of them and here is what we thought:

Purple Sweet Potato Milk Tea ($4.50)

“Taro? Guess again. It’s sweet potato! We would’ve made the mistake of thinking the latte variant is of the purple root vegetable if we drank it blindfolded. Even though it boasted a strong ‘taro’ profile, the drink in itself was actually quite watered down and not as sweet as we like it to be. Perhaps suited for those without the sweet tooth.” – Elliot

Apart from just serving up drinks to go, the 33-seater Gong Cha SingPost flagship also offers a snack menu for the very first time, with items such as tea-infused biscuits and muffins. The bubble tea brand plans to open 50 stores islandwide in the next five years.